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Chapter 8 - Heredity notes

The document provides an overview of heredity and genetics, defining key terms such as genetics, heredity, variation, chromosomes, genes, and traits. It discusses Mendel's laws of inheritance, including the laws of dominance, segregation, and independent assortment, as well as monohybrid and dihybrid crosses. Additionally, it explains sex determination in humans based on sex chromosomes.

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2 views

Chapter 8 - Heredity notes

The document provides an overview of heredity and genetics, defining key terms such as genetics, heredity, variation, chromosomes, genes, and traits. It discusses Mendel's laws of inheritance, including the laws of dominance, segregation, and independent assortment, as well as monohybrid and dihybrid crosses. Additionally, it explains sex determination in humans based on sex chromosomes.

Uploaded by

tanishq19sharma
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© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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FAHAHEEL AL-WATANIEH INDIAN PRIVATE SCHOOL

AHMADI-KUWAIT
BIOLOGY -- CLASS X

Chapter 8: Heredity

I. Define the following terms.


1. Genetics
Genetics is that branch of biology which deals with the study of heredity and variation.
2. Heredity
Heredity is known as the process of inheritance of traits or features of parents to offspring’s or
progeny.
3. Variation
Variation is the term given to the difference in the characters or traits that exist among the
individuals of a species. They are responsible for diversity in a population.
Variations occur due to: (i) Sexual reproduction.
(ii) Inaccuracies in DNA copying.
(iii) Environmental factors
4. Chromosomes
In the nucleus of each cell, the genetic material is packaged into structures called chromosomes.
They are made of DNA and proteins. There are 23 pairs of chromosomes in human beings- one
in each pair is maternal and the other is paternal.
5. Genes
Genes are the functional unit of inheritance. Genes contain information to express a trait.
6. Alleles
Most of the genes have more than two versions, they are called alleles. E.g. there are two alleles
for the height gene, one is short, and one is tall. Alleles produce variations.
7. Trait
A trait is any structural, functional, behavioral or any other characteristic of an individual.
8. Inherited traits
Traits which are transferred from parents to offspring are called inherited traits.
9. Acquired traits
An acquired trait is a characteristic that a living thing gets during its lifetime and cannot be
inherited.
10. Genotype
Genotype is the genetic makeup of an organism. Genotypes are represented by letters. Each letter
stands for a trait that is inherited from each parent (because of sexual reproduction).
11. Phenotype
Phenotype is the expression of genotype. It is the result of how the genes interact with the
environment. The characters that one can observe in an organism are known as the phenotype.
Color of the eyes, the hair etc.
12. Homozygous or pure breed
An organism in which two alleles of genes are identical.
13. Heterozygous or hybrid
An organism in which two alleles of a gene are dissimilar.
14. Dominant allele
It is the allele that expresses itself in a hybrid.
15. Recessive allele
It is the allele that is suppressed (doesn’t express itself) in a hybrid.
16. Sex Chromosomes
Sex chromosomes are chromosomes that determine whether the individual is male or female.
Mendel’s laws of inheritance
Ist Law of dominance
In hybrids, the characters represented by two contrasting factors called alleles. The factor that is
expressed in the hybrid is called dominant factor, and the alternate form that remains hidden, is
called recessive factor.
IInd Law of segregation
The two factors that remain together in the parents segregate during gamete formation, and only
one of the factors enter one gamete. As a result, the gametes are pure, for a character (they are
only one type of the alleles.) the paired condition is restored from random fertilization.
IIIrd Law of independent assortment
This law states that in the inheritance of two pairs of contrasting characters, the factor of each
pair of characters segregate independently. This law was proposed by Mendel, based on the
result of dihybrid crosses, where inheritance of two traits were considered simultaneously.
1. Monohybrid cross
Cross between two pea plants with one pair of contrasting characters is called a monohybrid
cross. Example: Cross between a tall and a dwarf plant (short).
2. Dihybrid cross
Cross between two pea plants with two pairs of contrasting characters is called a dihybrid cross.
Example: Cross between a pure breeding pea plant with round yellow seeds and a pea plant with
wrinkled green seeds.
Dihybrid Cross
Dihybrid cross
phenotypic ratio = Round yellow:Round green:Wrinkled yellow:Wrinkled green
9 : 3 : 3 :1
3. Test cross
It is a cross designed by Mendel to determine the genotype of an individual. The individual whose
genotype is unknown, is crossed with an individual which is homozygous recessive of the trait
(recessive parent).
Case I

Case II
4. Sex determination in human beings

Sex determination
The temperature at which fertilized eggs are kept, determine whether the animals developing in
the eggs are male or female.
In animals such as snails, individuals can change sex. Hence sex is not genetically determined.
In humans, sex is genetically determined. It is determined by the sex chromosomes, which in
females, is a XX pair, and in males it is a XY pair.
During ovum formation, each ovum carries X chromosomes. During sperm formation, a sperm
may carry either x chromosome, or y chromosome.
If a sperm carrying a X chromosome fuses with an ovum, a female offspring XX is produced.
If a sperm carrying a Y chromosome fuses with an ovum, a male offspring XY is produced.
Hence, the sex of a child is determined by the sex chromosome inherited from the father.

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